Skvernelis, who previously headed the Ministry of the Interior and the Government, has also revealed how he is prepared for Day X.
On Thursday at the Seimas, when asked where the problem lies in the fact that such a large part of society is not prepared for emergencies—whether in the services or in the people—the Seimas Speaker explained that everyone has to take responsibility for his or her own security.
„Because as long as you think that the threat is somewhere far away, even though it might be real, but far away and maybe you won't need it, that is what preparation is.
It depends on the situation—when it gets more complicated, everybody reads the page that's published with the recommendations, puts their bags together, and then, over time, forgets about it.
It seems that people today have all the possibilities to prepare themselves; they know where to find information, and they have to take care of their security,“ Skvernelis said.
Asked whether he had packed his „departure bag“, Skvernelis said that he was not in charge of these matters but that his family took emergency preparedness seriously and responsibly.
„It's a bit easier for me now because others do much of the thinking for me. But when I was not the Speaker of the Seimas, our family was prepared; we had the essentials we would need for an evacuation, if any, or to survive for a certain period, so I take it seriously enough. That preparation, and the packing was done,“ the Speaker of the Seimas emphasised.
„Now I don't know how it would be here because I would not be the one to decide now. I would have to evacuate from my house, but to the places where the Seimas will carry out its functions uninterruptedly“, Skvernelis added.
As previously reported, with the war in Ukraine now in its third year, one in seven Lithuanians say they are unprepared for various emergencies, according to a public opinion poll conducted by Baltic Research.
According to the survey, 70% of the country's population was unprepared for possible threats. At the same time, 21% of respondents indicated that they were prepared, and 9% did not know.
The Lithuanians who are prepared for possible threats are mainly people aged 30–49, higher-income earners, and people living in large cities. Those in leadership positions or with businesses are also more likely to say they are prepared for Day X.
Rural residents, retired people, homemakers, the unemployed, and non-nationals feel less prepared than rural residents.
The market and public opinion research company Baltijos Tyrimai carried out a representative survey of the Lithuanian population in March this year.
The margin of error of the survey results is up to 3.1%.